Playing with Pi-Star

Updated for Pi-Star 3.4.9, Dashboard 20180214

After I heard some good things about Pi-Star from another D-STAR enthusiast, I decided to give it a try. After playing around with it for a while, I found that I really like it, so much so that as of Nov 2017, Pi-Star became my default hotspot software for the two digital radio modes I use: D-STAR and DMR. It also handles YSF and even P25 (when used with a multimode digital voice modem like the ZUMspot). If only it would do the dishes and take out the trash, too!

Andy Taylor, MWØMWZ, the driving force behind Pi-Star, has this to say on the Pi-Star website:

Pi-Star can be what ever you want it to be, from a simple single mode hotsport running simplex providing you with access to the increasing number of Digital Voice networks, up to a public duplex multimode repeater!

Disclaimer

These are my personal notes and opinions based on my experience using Pi-Star, as well as by learning from what others are sharing. I'm not affiliated with the Pi-Star project, except as an appreciative user. I've tried to be accurate, but there may be things I'm mistaken about. Please let me know if you come across anything needing correction.

1) Learning about Pi-Star

Pi-Star is relatively easy to set up as a personal hotspot, so don't be put off by the length of this page. To get quickly up and running, just follow the easy steps outlined in the Pi-Star initial setup video by Craig, W1MSG.

Even though I was able to get Pi-Star working quickly, I wanted to understand more about its rich set of configuration options and other features, so I continued researching and writing this article as a personal reference based on what I'm learning.

1b) Other good resources for learning about Pi-Star

Pi-Star Users Support Group – What a great community of helpful users! I've spent a ton of time browsing answers there, and numerous times throughout this article I quote answers provided by Andy Taylor and others in the support group.

2) Downloading Pi-Star

First things first: grab the latest Pi-Star image designed for your hotspot from Pi-Star Downloads.

At this time, I'm using Pi-Star with a ZUMspot mounted on a Raspberry Pi. Initially, I used it with a DVMEGA-DUAL mounted on a Raspberry Pi. (They're both great combinations, though the ZUMspot has the advantage of simultaneous multi-mode capability.) So I use the RPi image.

3) Flashing Pi-Star

Unzip the Pi-Star image zip file you downloaded, and then flash the image file itself (the one with the .img extension) to a microSD card. I did this using, for the first time, Etcher SD Card Imager ¹.

[1] Etcher SD Card Imager is an open source project by resin.io available for Mac, Linux, and Windows with a modern design that is totally easy to use. Thanks resin.io team for bringing SD card imaging into the 21st century!

3a) Adding WiFi settings

After you have finished flashing the image to a microSD card, add your initial WiFi settings to the root folder so they'll auto-install on first boot up:

4) Booting up Pi-Star

Insert the microSD card into your RPi and power it on (takes a minute or so, and a bit longer when using a RPi Zero W). On another Windows, Mac, or Linux-based computer connected to the same network, open a browser window and go to: http://pi-star.local/. The first time you do this, you'll be greeted by a "No Mode Defined" screen.

Note: If you have a display attached to your Raspberry Pi, you optionally can watch the Raspbian Jessie Linux startup process until it displays a login prompt; however, do NOT log in via that RPi.

At this point, you can either click the Configuration link or wait 10 seconds to be automatically redirected. The Configuration view requires authentication: the factory default user name is pi-star and the password is raspberry.

Note: An important security step that should be part of your initial configuration of Pi-Star is changing that default password, which is discussed below: 5j) Remote Access Password.

Note: DVMEGA has minimum firmware requirements when using MMDVM with the following modes: DMR = 3.07 and YSF = 3.14. Beyond those minimums, there are even newer versions available. For more info about updating the DVMEGA firmware, see DVMEGA firmware update on the Notes page at the end of my Diving into D-STAR article.

Save your changes!

After making changes in any of the configuration sections, click the Apply Changes button below the section. The services are stopped, the changes are applied, and then the services are restarted, after which you'll be returned to the Configuration view.

Clicking any of the Apply Changes buttons will apply all changes made in any of the sections, but it's a good idea to save after working in each section. For example, if you have enabled various modes (DMR, D-STAR, etc.), the associated configuration section is displayed only after saving.

5b) MMDVMHost Configuration

Modes – Initially, I enabled all modes so I'd have access to all the configuration options for them. Subsequently, I enable only the one or two modes I want to use.

Hangtime – Related to multi-mode use. Per Andy Taylor in the Pi-Star Users Support Group: "these set the amount of time that mode is 'sticky' for – so if you have an in-coming call over DMR from the network, how long would you like to stay stuck to DMR mode." For more info, watch Pi-Star Hang Time Update, 2017, by Craig, W1MSG.

MMDVM Display Type – If you're using a display with your MMDVM, select:

Type of display: OLED, Nextion, HD44780, TFT Serial, or LCDproc.

Port you're using: Modem, /dev/ttyAMA0, or /dev/ttyUSB0.

Layout, if you're using a Nextion display: G4KLX or ON7LDS.

Note 1: To learn more about Nextion screens, visit the Nextion Ham-Radio Screens group administered by Rob van Rheenen, PD0DIB, a Dutch ham and Pi-Star enthusiast.

&bigstar; DVMEGA multi-mode gotcha

The DVMEGA doesn't support running multiple modes simultaneously, so when I actually ran Pi-Star using the DVMEGA, I ran only one mode at a time. When I initially tried running both DMR and D-STAR simultaneously with the DVMEGA, eventually things would hang and the only way I could recover was by shutting down and powering off the Pi-Star app and the DVMEGA, and then restarting.

5c) General Configuration

Hostname – You can give your hotspot a unique hostname, for example, if you're running two hotspots simultaneously, you'd need different hostnames for each, such as pi-star and pi-star-2. If you do change the hostname, you must reboot the hotspot before it takes effect.
Note: This doesn't change the authentication user name, which remains Pi-Star.

Node Callsign – I use my own callsign for my hotspots, but some people have special callsigns for their repeaters.

Radio Frequency – Used for connecting your radios to the hotspot or modem you're using. For help choosing a frequency, see your country's band plan (U.S. Band Plan) or the helpful info that Ron, VE1AIC, has posted on his blog: Digital Voice frequencies. See also the Pi-Star Users Support Group discussion about frequencies.Important! Avoid frequencies used for other purposes, especially for satellites, for example, 435.00 - 438.00 (used internationally), as satellite communication can be disrupted easily by low power transmissions, such as those used for digital voice.

Lat, Lon, Town, QTH Locator grid square, and Country – Where the gateway (hotspot) is located. Per Andy Taylor in the Pi-Star Users Support Group: "If you are running D-Star mode, and you add your position information to the dashboard, you will get D-PRS positioning from ircDDBGateway." In addition, location info is used for your Brandmeister hotspot listing. To find your locator grid square, see http://qthlocator.free.fr.

URL – If you want to use this for QRZ and your QRZ page uses the same callsign as your hotspot, select Auto; if they're different, select Manual and replace the placeholder callsign at the end of the URL with your own. Or, per Andy Taylor in the Pi-Star Users Support Group: "set to manual and you can set what you like here, this is reported upstream on some modes like D-Star and DMR; Auto populates it with your QRZ page, Manual allows you to enter whatever you like."

Radio/Modem Type – The Pi-Star RPi image supports a bunch of radios and modems running on the Raspberry Pi 3 or Raspberry Pi Zero W:
For a full list, see the note RPi image supported radios and modems.

Node Type – Per Andy Taylor in the Pi-Star Users Support Group: "this relates to the UK restrictions, a Public node is just that, can be used by any callsign, while a Private node can only be accessed by the same callsign assigned to the Pi-Star." In his video, Craig, W1MSG, sets it to Public because he's in the U.S., and says that in the U.K. it needs to be set to Private.

System Time Zone – Select the time zone of where the gateway (hotspot) is located.

Dashboard Language – Select the default for the dashboard. English (US) is a good option for someone like me who wasn't able to understand much of anything being said when I was a visitor wandering around the streets of London!

If any changes made, click Apply Changes.

Radio/Modem Type do-over

When I saved after making changes in General Configuration section, I received a WARNING message: "The Modem selection section has been updated, Please re-select your modem from the list." I presume this was because new or revised items had been added to the list. After re-selecting the radio/modem type and re-applying changes, everything was fine.

Digital mode configuration settings

5d) DMR Configuration

DMR Master – If you want to use only a specific system, choose a specific BrandMeister or DMR+ master. In that case, everything is simpler as you'll see only a few options for that system.
If you want access to multiple systems simultaneously, choose DMRGateway as your DMR master, and then you'll see options for BrandMeister, DMR+, and XLX.²
If you choose to use DMRGateway, make sure to read the following note, DMRGateway can be confusing.

DMR+ Network – Set up any options you want to use.²Note: If you change modes via MMDVMHost Configuration, for example, if you turn off DMR Mode and turn on D-STAR mode, your options won't be saved, so you'll need to re-enter them the next time you turn on DMR Mode and choose DRM+ or DMRGateway as your DMR master.

XLX Master – Choose the XLX master server you want to use.

XLX Master Enable – Toggle the XLX master on/off.

DMR Color Code – Hotspots typically use color code 1.

DMR EmbeddedLCOnly – The default is off. Per Andy Taylor in the Pi-Star Users Support Group: "this feature relates to some of the data passed in/out from some radios…. Some radios are affected by this (Connect Systems, for example) and some are not (Motorola). Most of us can take the default."

DMR DumpTAData – The default is on, which enables "Talker Alias" information to be received, if your radio supports that. I don't know whether my radios do, but I left it on.

&bigstar; DMRGateway can be confusing!

As I discussed in my Understanding DMR article, DMR in general can be confusing because it was originally designed for commercial use and is a bit of an awkward fit for amateur radio. As powerful as DMRGateway is, it can magnify that confusion. On top of that, it is a work in progress and on the bleeding edge, so it changes fairly frequently, and some of the changes don't work out.

Added to that, DMRGateway is the method by which Pi-Star makes available access to the XLX system, which is comprised of masters, reflectors, and talkgroups, and that, too, is evolving rapidly.

I try to read everything I can about both DMRGateway and the XLX system, but some aspects of both still confuse me (and many others). In the case of DMRGateway, it also may be a case where a single solution is trying to accomplish too much; it may be a better solution for repeater operators than someone like me who is just trying to access DMR talkgroups and reflectors using a hotspot.

All in all, this is a bit of a wild rollercoaster ride, for sure. The best advice I can offer is to pull down the safety bar and hold on tight!

5e) D-STAR Configuration

RPT1 Callsign – Pi-Star autofills the callsign you have set up for your hotspot, and the B module is selected initially. If necessary, change the module to the one you want your radio to connect to. For UHF hotspots, this is typically B.

RPT2 Callsign – This is set up automatically based on the callsign you have set up for your hotspot. The module is set to G = Gateway.

Remote Password (formerly labeled ircDDBGateway Password) – Use for any kind of remote access to this system. Per Andy Taylor in the Pi-Star Users Support Group: "the ircDDBGateway password on the dashboard is for ircDDBGateway remote." I left this untouched. Note: This is different from the Remote Access Password that is used for accessing the Pi-Star Admin and Configuration settings, as well as for SSH access. For that, see 5j) Remote Access Password.

Default Reflector – You can select your default reflector as well as whether you want Pi-Star to connect to it automatically when it starts up.

APRS Host – Select your preferred APRS host, typically the nearest.

ircDDBGateway Language – Pick the one you understand.

Time Announcements – If enabled, you'll hear a time announcement every 15 minutes when D-STAR mode is enabled. I turned this on at first, but found that these announcements can override incoming calls, so turned them off.

Use DPlus for XRF ³ – If your router doesn't support automatic uPNP port forwarding and you don't want to manually set up port forwarding for X-Reflectors, you can enable this option to make it possible for Pi-Star to connect to all X-Reflectors.Important! If you change this option, you must run an update.

[3] X-Reflectors using either the older Dextra protocol or the FreeStar protocol (for example, XRF720, a Colorado statewide reflector) require port forwarding in order for Pi-Star to connect to them. This doesn't apply to X-Reflectors running the newer Dextra Enhanced protocol (for example, the XRF002 reflector). If 1) your router doesn't support uPNP, 2) you don't want to enable the "Use DPlus for XRF" option, and 3) you want to manually set up port forwarding, see the note: Port forwarding.

Hint about using YSF with Pi-Star

To change rooms, disconnect, or connect with the radio, you need to use the Wires-X button on your Yaesu radio to connect to Pi-Star. Make sure that you only have YSF mode selected in Pi-Star as the radio only sends out a short transmission to connect to Wires-X and the DvMega scans all active modes and will not hear a short Tx unless it is the only mode scanning. Once you make the Wires-X connection to Pi-Star you can use the radio to change rooms or disconnect as you would normally do as if you were connected to a Wires-X node. Note that if you are using the FT70 Yaesu radio, you need the latest radio firmware installed, which gives that radio Wires-X capability.

Additional configuration settings

5h) Firewall Configuration

Used for accessing the dashboard remotely, from outside your network. Per Andy Taylor in the Pi-Star Users Support Group: "These settings tell the uPNP daemon to request port forwards from your router. If you don't use uPNP, they have NO effect."

5i) Wireless Configuration

You can scan for open networks, find the one you want, and click Connect. Alternatively, for example, if the scan doesn't find the network you want to use, you can add a network manually:

Click Add Network to open the options to manually add a WiFi network.

Type the SSID (wireless network name).

Type the PSK (password to access the wireless network).

Click Save (and connect).Note: This step tripped me up initially. After saving, Pi-Star basically froze waiting to reconnect. I had to shut down and power off my DVMEGA &plus; RPi, disconnect the network cable from the RPi, and also shut down the Pi-Star dashboard and power off my computer, before restarting everything. After that, it all started working smoothly (and wirelessly).

Optionally, you can add additional wireless network connections.

Adding multiple wireless network connections

If you have multiple wireless network connections, when you turn on your Pi-Star hotspot, it will scan each one in turn based on its priority until it finds one to connect to.

Be patient: connection attempts can take ~40 seconds each.

The first wireless network connection you add is given an ID of 0 and a priority of 100.

For each additional wireless network connection you add, the ID is incremented by one and the priority is decremented by one.

Scanning for networks

This feature seems to be a bit unreliable. It didn't work at all for me, finding neither my own wireless network nor any of the neighboring networks I see when I scan with other devices. Other people in the Pi-Star Users Support Group have reported similar experiences, and it's not clear what the underlying issue is.

Some people have said that if they run the scan several times, eventually their network will show up. Others say it's a Raspberry Pi 3 issue, but haven't yet identified the exact issue is. Still others say it's an issue with the wireless network names (SSID), that they need to be short and simple, but haven't identified what the maximum length should be or which characters are breaking the scan feature (and anyway, I'm a firm believer in using long passwords).

5j) Remote Access Password

Used both for accessing the Pi-Star Admin and Configuration settings, and for SSH access.

&bigstar; Strongly recommended: In order to protect your settings and network, change the password from the default to something stronger and more challenging to hack. It can be a scary world out there!

&bigstar; Remote Access Password gotcha

Apparently, some special characters work for accessing Pi-Star Admin and Configuration settings, but not for SSH. For example, including a tilde symbol (~) in the password worked for logging into Pi-Star Admin, but prevented me from signing in via SSH.

6) Running Pi-Star

Once you've done the initial configuration, running Pi-Star is easy peasy. Just start your hotspot or modem and give the Pi-Star RPi image a minute or two to fully boot up. As long as you have your radio set up correctly, you should be able to start using your radio for digital voice mode activity.

Optionally, you can browse to http://pi-star.local/ on any computer connected to your network to open the Pi-Star dashboard. You'll see the mode(s) you've configured to run enabled (green), and you can monitor activity.

Important! If you're using D-STAR, you must set up your radio correctly in order to use Pi-Star successfully. It doesn't work to use DV mode; instead, you must set up RPT1, RPT2, and a zero offset (either &plus;/−0.000). Sometimes, this is referred to as Duplex mode; for the TH-D74A, this is called D-STAR Repeater (DR) mode.

6a) Dashboard view

Here's what the dashboard looks like with D-STAR and DMR modes enabled after it's been running for a while linked to D-STAR REF0001 C and DMR TG 310 (TAC310).

6b) Admin view

You can switch to the Admin view (requires authentication) to see more info, like Gateway Hardware Information and Service Status. This can be helpful for troubleshooting, though I haven't had to do much of that yet.

If you're running D-STAR mode, you also have the option of changing the reflector and linking/unlinking directly from the Pi-Star Admin page.

6c) Live Logs view

From the Admin view, you can select the Live Logs view, which starts a more detailed live logging process that can be useful for troubleshooting.

6d) Changing active mode(s)

If you want to change which modes are active, just hop over to the Configuration view, switch modes on and off in the MMDVMHost Configuration section as wanted, and then apply the changes.

7) Backing up or restoring Pi-Star

After you've done all the work of setting up Pi-Star just the way you want, it's a good idea to back it up.

In Admin view, click the Backup/Restore link.

In the Backup/Restore view, click Download Configuration, and then choose a location to safely tuck your work away so that you can easily restore if things ever go sideways, for example, if you decide to play around in the Expert Editor (discussed below) and muck things up totally.

9) Updating Pi-Star

One of the nice things about Pi-Star is that it's updated on a regular basis to add new features and options, including MMDVMhost updates.

Per Andy Taylor in the Pi-Star Users Support Group: " just for info here, MMDVMHost is updated reasonably often, Pi-Star will pull in the updates over night after I release them, or you can press update on the dashboard to pull in the updates if you want it before the nightly pull. I don't update the binaries daily, but I do try and track the upstream source reasonably often."

Running Pi-Star Update updates the dashboard and binaries. The update process doesn't upgrade the operating system, services, and packages (there's a manual process for that outlined further below). Upgrades are released less frequently.

If you don't leave Pi-Star running overnight or you want to manually launch an update, in the Admin view, click Update. (Alternatively, you can run the update via SSH, which is discussed below.)

In the Update view, you'll see the process running. Let it run until it's totally finished.

10) Advanced Pi-Star configuration (Expert Editor)

Thanks to Janos, YO6GZI, for sharing this hint about Pi-Star with me: you can access a set of "Expert Editor" tabs by appending the admin URL with "/expert." You'll see a **WARNING** message:

"Please keep in mind when making your edits here, that these config files can be updated by the dashboard, and that your edits can be over-written. It is assumed that you already know what you are doing editing the files by hand, and that you understand what parts of the files are maintained by the dashboard."

The Expert Editor provides access to the built-in SSH Access window, as well as advanced configuration options for:

[4] The PiStar-Remote Config File is designed for the Pi-Star Keeper remote control system, which gives repeater keepers an RF KillSwitch for their repeaters. It also provides access to some basic remote control ability via RF. For more info, see 15) Watchdogs, Keepers, and Remote RF commands on the Pi-Star notes page.

11) Upgrading Pi-Star

To upgrade the operating system, services, and packages, you need to SSH into Pi-Star and run an upgrade (you can run this in the default read-only mode). You can use an SSH (Secure Shell) app like Termius or PuTTY, or you can use Pi-Star's built in SSH tool: Expert Editor > SSH Access.

SSH into Pi-Star and log in.Hint: In my experience, the update script log sometimes hangs in Pi-Star's built-in SSH Access window, even though the update script usually finishes anyway, if you give it enough time (but it's guesswork as to how much time is enough). At the bottom of the built-in SSH window, there is an optional link for a "fullscreen SSH client." For some reason, it seems like the update script log runs better in the fullscreen SSH client, never hanging.

Begin with an update of the dashboard and binaries:sudo pistar-update
Allow the update process to run until you see:Updates complete, sleeping for a few seconds before making the disk Read-OnlyFinished

Run the process as many times as needed until the system reports you are on the most recent version:Detected Pi-Star #.#.# running on RPi hardware, attached to dvmpid modem...You are already running the latest version...Sleeping a few seconds before making the disk Read-Only...Finished

To view the upgrade changes, visit the Pi-Star Downloads page and scroll down to Change Log.

12) Pi-Star – Summary thoughts

As of Nov 2017, it became my default hotspot software for the two digital radio modes I use: D-STAR and DMR. It also handles YSF and even P25 (when used with an MMDVM-capable modem like the ZUMspot).

At this time, I'm using Pi-Star with a ZUMspot mounted on a Raspberry Pi. Initially, I used it with a DVMEGA-DUAL mounted on a Raspberry Pi. They're both great combinations, though the ZUMspot has the advantage of simultaneous multi-mode capability.

12a) The dashboard is great

I'm actually surprised by how much I like the dashboard. I thought it would be a "nice-to-have" feature, but it turns out that it's great to be able to watch the activity on a reflector, especially during a net. It's also nice to be able to easily look up people's QRZ pages.

12b) Actively developed and supported

Another thing I really appreciate is how actively and enthusiastically Andy Taylor and team are developing and supporting Pi-Star; they're really responsive to the community of Pi-Star users.

My appreciation was further solidified when, as of version 3.4.8, a new "Use DPlus for XRF" setting was introduced in the D-STAR Configuration section for people like me who don't have a router that supports automatic uPNP port forwarding and who don't want to manually set up port forwarding. The new setting enables linking to X-Reflectors that run either older versions of their operating software or the FreeStar operating software (like XRF720, a Colorado statewide reflector I like to connect to). Thanks to Adrian Fewster, VK4TUX, a helpful member of the Pi-Star Users Support Group, for originally coming up with this solution, which was subsequently incorporated into a Pi-Star upgrade.

12d) A base station and a mobile hotspot

Paired with a ZUMspot RPi UHF Hotspot board, Pi-Star is a great solution for a base station and a mobile hotspot.

12e) Worth supporting

Obviously, Andy and team are pouring a lot of energy, intelligence, and heart into creating Pi-Star, which they're giving away freely to digital hams. There's also a robust community of hams contributing to helping Pi-Star users via the Pi-Star Users Support Group. Per Andy:

And now to you dear reader, you are probably reading this because you already run Pi-Star, or you are about to start. Without you, this project wouldn't be where it is today, a shining beacon of what can be when a few like-minded people with similar interests are prepared to set monetary gain aside and just give away their work. You might not be a coder, you might not feel that you understand digital radio enough to give anything back, but that time will come. Enjoy the hobby, tell your friends what we got right with Pi-Star, and tell us when it does something it shouldn't.

TX some support!

If you end up appreciating Pi-Star as much as I do, consider supporting this work by contributing to the Pi-Star Users Support Group or by sending some monetary support their way toward the running costs of the server / build / test environments that they're using to make Pi-Star what it is. For more info, see Pi-Star – How can I help?.